Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1887-01-08
THE PEOPLE OF LABRA.
DOR.

supremacy OF the sea-. the isolation
from tho world-all their circumstan-
ces, ~indecd-are SO strongly marked
as to be Irresistible. The population
of the Canadian part of the coast
down to the l'oundry line at Blanc Sa-
blon-is of French origin. Canadian
and Arcadian; the Newfoundland part
of Labrador-thc Strait Of Belle Isle
and the Atlantic coast-is inhani,cd by
English-speaking people. Moravians
and E>quimaux are found ia the far
North. The French Canadians consist
of two classes; Il part of them come
here every spring to fish for tine mer-
chants, and return every fall to their
families and small homcsteads between
@ ebrc and Gaspe; Others live here
permanently, own little isolated es-
tabiishmenls, and fish on their W ac-
count. The Acadians have collected
in two principal settlements, Esqui-
maux point and Na,ashquan. whore
they have their schools, priests. cnurcu-
es. and some other features of village
life.
was fortunate in being storm-stay-
ed at u few of these French Canadian
homes, where l found now and then u
person able to give me some account
of the summer and winter life OF the
people. To begin with external and
material things, the average home of
Labrador generally consists of a rough
board dwelling, with two rooms and a
garnet, a small dock and store-house
for receiving, cleaning, curing, and
storing fish, and two or tnree open
tshing-boats. AL these buildings
perch like anxious ws,er-fowls on the
bare rocks; they never impress me as
hon es, Tor they make for themselves
no niche or place in the surface of tho
earth; you expect them to he washed
or blown away at the next gale-as
they sometimes are. For the sake oil
being near the tisiing-grounds these
shelters are generally established on
some outlying island Offering u moor
Ing or else a ueach for the boats; they
seem to be banis!led from the earth rs
far IS possible seward. They stand
up gaunt, stark naked in the gales, in
the midst Of u desert OF sea anu rocks.
In the best places there may be in Il
hollow 4 little sand, enriched with de-
cayiny fish, where a few turnips and
cabbages manage to show themselves
during u brief season. You get a
gie;ln of hope and of horror on be-
holding u gaunt scatiold about cigh-
teen feet high; Tut il is not u gallows
for the ending U lie, only II platform
for Keeping the frozen fish for dog
meat. The interior of these homes Is
not quite so distressing Us their hard
nrr,,nl;ur fo. ,h.. h,r,,n ,..I =.
doors can make its mark, which is not
always Il Clean II The furniture,
diet. costumes. are rough aud COM
monpiace; uut the people are courte-
Gus and kind. and they observe we'll
their religious rites. Their isolation is
sucn that they keep the run OF time by
marking the days Of the week on the
uoor-post. An exception to this drear-
mess is 10 be met here and there, at a
lighthouse or at the home Of a mer.
Chant. l asked III intelligent fisher
man how he could content himself in
sue IL pace.
"Wcll. sir, l expect we're fools to
stay here. The worst OF it is. our
children are growing up US ignorant
US We arc-just like the dogs. Hardly
any OF lis can read or write. Our
houses are too tar apart to get tue
children together for school. excepting
at E>quim lux Point, Natasllquan. and
Mutton Gay. Tnc,,, too, We can't see
the priest more tnan once or twice Il
year, aud ihal's very announcement
about dying. Tor pIcurisy and con-
sumption are very h-ai-strony. Aud
there no doctor at all, nor any roots
or hrrus to: medicines. We keep
alive on pain-kil.et ami salts tnat the
traders sell. It's u hard lie, and we
don live To be very Odd. We have 10
do all our own wurk-jAck-ol-all-
trades. you know. When we came
here to live, my wife md I cut all the
timber in the winter for building these
houses, sawed it by hand in u pit, and
in the spring RATED it down the river"
The social season OF Labrador is the
winter. There is no fishing then to
keep people at home; cutting wood
and a little hunting are tho only occu-
pa,ions Winter lasts about eight
months; when the channels among the
islands and the bays are frozen vel,
dog teams can run up and down the
COtSI lOI lAtcc uN'luAcu "lics-AAOIu
Mingan to Bonnie Esperance. People
then 60 visiting; they carry no provis-
ions. for everybody keeps open house.
and the little cabins are often packed
with people and dogs. Tie winter
homes, as Il rule. are back som, miles
from the coast, where wood is handy.
Several lalni.ies who fish at Whale
Head live on q swamp in winter. where
the tread Of u man along the street
shakes every house. The Able Fer
land says that in his t.m,-aUout fifty
years ago-the hospitality of the co;tst
Was such the lcople on going away
flom home used to leave food. and
sometimes even money, OF the table,
and the doors unlocked. that needy
travellers might enter and help them
selves. But the advent of more trav-
elers in these days has led to more eau
ton and less generosity.
Ii is not surprising to find all sea-
men superstitious; the irresistible and
whimsical forces Of the ocean must APP
pear 10 them supernatural. and their
changing fortunes must often seem tue
Result Of some untaihomable mystery.
Could events SO supernatural ;s those
toll by the Ancient Mariner be SO APP
propriate to Il lan,isiMLn? These fish,
er,nen are not Uel.iuu othet se:t-fariny
NEIL in either the number OF their STU
persli,ions or the faith they repose in
them. Bat Llbaior, in time, will
DOUBTLESS produce still aslonish-
ing results III TINS regard; Tor what 9th.
err region on earth offcls sucn element
al powers. such wcir.i sccnes, sGcn lm-
prc>s.vc naru,liips aud horrors? HIRE
is a region without 4 mile Of roaL in